Chapter 32—The Politics of Boom and Bust, 1920-1932
SHORT ANSWER
Identify and state the historical significance of the following:
1. Warren G. Harding
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Student answers will vary.
2. Charles Evans Hughes
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Student answers will vary.
3. Andrew Mellon
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Student answers will vary.
4. Herbert Hoover
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5. Albert B. Fall
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Student answers will vary.
6. Harry M. Daugherty
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7. Frank B. Kellogg
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8. Charles R. Forbes
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9. Calvin Coolidge
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Student answers will vary.
10. John W. Davis
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11. Robert La Follette
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12. Charles Dawes
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Student answers will vary.
13. Douglas MacArthur
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14. Henry L. Stimson
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Student answers will vary.
15. Alfred E. Smith
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Student answers will vary.
Describe and state the historical significance of the following:
16. "Ohio Gang"
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Student answers will vary.
17. Adkins v. Children's Hospital
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Student answers will vary.
18. steel strike of 1919
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Student answers will vary.
19. American Legion
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Student answers will vary.
20. Washington Disarmament Conference
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21. Four-Power Treaty
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22. Nine-Power Treaty
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23. Kellogg-Briand Pact
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24. Fordney-McCumber Tariff
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Student answers will vary.
25. Teapot Dome
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26. McNary-Haugen Bill
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27. Progressive party
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28. Dawes Plan
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29. "Hoovercrats"
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30. Hawley-Smoot Tariff
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Student answers will vary.
31. Black Tuesday
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32. Muscle Shoals Bill
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33. Reconstruction Finance Corporation
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Student answers will vary.
34. Norris-LaGuardia Act
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Student answers will vary.
35. Bonus Army
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Student answers will vary.
36. Stimson doctrine
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Student answers will vary.
MULTIPLE CHOICE
37. Warren G. Harding's weaknesses as president included all of the following except a(n)
a. lack of political experience.
b. mediocre mind.
c. inability to detect moral weaknesses in his associates.
d. unwillingness to hurt people's feelings by saying no.
e. administrative weakness.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 728-729
38. Match each member of President Harding's cabinet below with his major area of responsibility.
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Charles Evans Hughes
Andrew Mellon
Herbert Hoover
Albert Fall
Harry Daugherty
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
A-5, B-3, C-2, D-4, E-1
A-3, B-1, C-4, D-2, E-5
A-2, B-4, C-3, D-5, E-1
A-4, B-5, C-1, D-3, E-2
A-1, B-2, C-5, D-3, E-4
ANS: B
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
REF:
taxes and tariffs
naval oil reserves
naval arms limitation
foreign trade and trade associations
justice and law enforcement
p. 728-729
39. Which one of the following members of President Harding's cabinet proved to be incompetent and
corrupt?
a. Herbert Hoover
b. Calvin Coolidge
c. Andrew Mellon
d. Charles Evans Hughes
e. Albert Fall
ANS: E
REF:
p. 728-729
40. Republican economic policies under Warren G. Harding
a. sought to continue the same laissez-faire doctrine as had been the practice under William
McKinley.
b. hoped to encourage the government actively to assist business along the path to profits.
c. sought to regulate the policies of large corporations.
d. aimed at supporting increased competition in business.
e. aided small business at the expense of big business.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 729
41. During the 1920s, the Supreme Court
a. often ruled against progressive legislation.
b. rigorously upheld the antitrust laws.
c. generally promoted government regulation of the economy.
d. staunchly defended the rights of organized labor.
e. upheld laws providing special protection for women.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 729
42. ____ was/were adversely affected by the demobilization policies adopted by the federal government at
the end of World War I.
a. The cement industry
b. The railroad industry
c. The shipping industry
d. Veterans
e. Organized labor
ANS: E
REF:
p. 729
43. In the Adkins case, the Supreme Court ruled that
a. federal child labor laws were unconstitutional.
b. women had the right to sue for equal pay for equal work.
c. anti-union "right to work" laws were constitutional.
d. women were no longer entitled to special protection in the workplace because they now
had the vote.
e. federal maternity benefits designed for women did not constitute unequal treatment.
ANS: D
REF:
p. 729
44. The great event that essentially crippled organized labor throughout the 1920s was
a. the Supreme Court's ruling against the union closed shop in the Adkins case.
b. the deportation of the most effective labor organizers to the Communist Soviet Union.
c. the split within the American labor movement between the American Federation of Labor
and the Socialists.
d. the federal government's antilabor intervention that broke the 1919 steel strike.
e. repeal of the Clayton Act guaranteeing unions the right to organize.
ANS: D
REF:
p. 730
45. The nonbusiness group that realized the most significant, lasting gains from World War I was
a. labor.
b. blacks.
c. the Ku Klux Klan.
d. women.
e. veterans.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 730
46. Veterans' organizations like the American Legion successfully lobbied Congress to give them
a. higher pay for service in military reserve or national guard units.
b. special payments for those suffering the effects of shell shock or poison gas.
c. financial support for college education or job training.
d. guaranteed medical care in modern, efficient veterans' hospitals.
e. a bonus insurance policy to compensate them for lost wages during their military service.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 730
47. One exception to President Warren G. Harding's policy of isolationism involved the Middle East,
where the United States sought to
a. support a homeland for Jews in Israel.
b. prevent the League of Nations from establishing British and French protectorates in the
region.
c. stop the Soviet Union from dominating the area.
d. secure oil-drilling concessions for American companies.
e. curb the rise of Arab nationalism.
ANS: D
REF:
p. 731
48. The primary reason that Warren G. Harding was willing to seize the initiative on the issue of
international disarmament was that
a. he feared renewed war in Europe.
b. he recognized that Japan and the United States might enter a dangerous arms race.
c. businesspeople were unwilling to help pay for a larger United States Navy.
d. he did not want the League of Nations to take the lead on this problem.
e. American public opinion strongly supported peacemaking efforts.
ANS: C
REF:
p. 731
49. The 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact
a. formally ended World War I for the United States, which had refused to sign the Treaty of
Versailles.
b. set a schedule for German payment of war reparations.
c. established a battleship ratio for the leading naval powers.
d. condemned Japan for its unprovoked attack on Manchuria.
e. officially outlawed war as a solution to international rivalry and conflict.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 732
50. The Fordney-McCumber and Hawley-Smoot Tariff laws had the long-term effect of
a. bringing American farmers out of the agricultural depression of the early 1920s.
b. encouraging the United States to turn more to Asia than to Europe for imports.
c. shrinking international trade and making it impossible for Europe to repay American war
loans.
d. lowering the prices Americans paid for domestic manufactured goods.
e. pressuring the Europeans to lower their own tariff rates in order to retain American trade.
ANS: C
REF:
p. 732 | p. 740
51. Which of the following was not a consequence of the American policy of raising tariffs sky-high in the
1920s?
a. European nations raised their own tariffs.
b. The postwar chaos in Europe was prolonged.
c. International economic distress deepened.
d. American foreign trade declined.
e. The American economy slipped into recession.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 732
52. The Teapot Dome scandal was centered around corrupt deals and bribes involving
a. naval oil reserves.
b. veterans' hospitals.
c. the Bureau of Indian Affairs.
d. European war debts.
e. presidential pardons.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 733
53. The major political scandal of Harding's administration resulted in the conviction and imprisonment of
his secretary of
a. the treasury.
b. state.
c. the navy.
d. commerce.
e. the interior.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 733
54. Which of the following descriptive attributes is least characteristic of President Coolidge?
a. Honesty
b. Frugality
c. Shyness
d. Wordiness
e. Caution
ANS: D
REF:
p. 733
55. During Coolidge's presidency, government policy was set largely by the interests and values of
a. farmers and wage earners.
b. the business community.
c. racial and ethnic minorities.
d. progressive reformers.
e. conservative New Englanders.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 734
56. After the initial shock of the Harding scandals, many Americans reacted by
a. demanding that all those involved be sent to prison.
b. excusing some of the wrongdoers on the grounds that "they had gotten away with it."
c. demanding the impeachment of the president.
d. suggesting that Harding resign the presidency so that Calvin Coolidge could take control.
e. calling for a thorough Congressional investigation.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 734
57. One of the major problems facing farmers in the 1920s was
a. overproduction.
b. the inability to purchase modern farm equipment.
c. passage of the McNary-Haugen Bill.
d. the prosecution of cooperatives under antitrust laws.
e. drought and insects like the boll weevil.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 734-735
58. The advent of the gasoline-powered tractor in the 1920s meant that
a. productivity went way up but so did debt.
b. farmers did not need to plow as much land to make the same profit.
c. farmers would have to spend time training hands on new equipment.
d. bigger crops could be grown on smaller areas.
e. None of these
ANS: A
REF:
p. 734-735
59. The McNary-Haugen Bill passed by Congress and twice vetoed by President Coolidge was aimed to
assist American farmers by
a. restricting the amount of crops farmers could plant in order to drive up prices.
b. having the federal government buy farm surpluses and sell them abroad.
c. providing federal support for farm co-operatives as a way of eliminating middle men.
d. providing federal loans for agricultural equipment and seeds.
e. blocking the import of certain cheaper agricultural commodities from Europe and Latin
America.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 735
60. Which of the following splits did not affect the Democratic party in 1924?
a. "Wets" versus "drys"
b. Immigrants versus old-stock Americans
c. Urbanites versus suburbanites
d. Fundamentalists versus Modernists
e. Northern liberals versus southern conservatives
ANS: C
REF:
p. 735
61. Senator Robert La Follette's Progressive party advocated all of the following except
a. government ownership of railroads.
b. relief for farmers.
c. opposition to antilabor injunctions.
d. opposition to monopolies.
e. increased power for the Supreme Court.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 735
62. In 1924, the Democratic party convention defeated by only one vote a resolution condemning
a. the Ku Klux Klan.
b. immigration restrictions.
c. prohibition.
d. Fundamentalism.
e. business monopolies.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 735
63. The Progressive party did not do well in the 1924 election because
a. it could not win the farm vote.
b. too many people shared in the general prosperity of the time to care about reform.
c. it was too caught up in internal discord.
d. the liberal vote was split between it and the Democratic party.
e. La Follette could not win the Socialists' endorsement.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 735-736
64. In the early 1920s, one glaring exception to America's general indifference to the outside world was its
a. involvement in the World Court.
b. armed intervention in the Caribbean and Central America.
c. involvement in the League of Nations' humanitarian operations.
d. naval buildup.
e. continuing attempt to oust the Communists from power in the Soviet Union.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 736
65. America's European allies argued that they should not have to repay loans that the United States made
to them during World War I because
a. the United States had owed them about $4 billion before the war.
b. the amount of money involved was not significant.
c. they had paid a much heavier price in lost lives, so it was only fair for the United States to
write off the debt.
d. the United States was making so much money from Mexican and Middle Eastern oil that it
did not need extra dollars.
e. Germany was not paying its reparations to them, so they could not afford to pay off the
loans.
ANS: C
REF:
p. 737
66. As a result of America's insistence that its Allies' war debts be repaid in full, the
a. French and British demanded enormous reparations payments from Germany.
b. German mark was ruined by drastic inflation.
c. Allies borrowed money from Switzerland to repay the loans.
d. Allies imposed enormously high new taxes on their citizens.
e. Allies demanded that the United States lower its tariffs.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 737
67. America's major foreign-policy problem in the 1920s was addressed by the Dawes Plan, which
a. ended the big-stick policy of armed intervention in Central America and the Caribbean.
b. established a ratio of allowable naval strength between the United States, Britain, and
Japan.
c. condemned the Japanese aggression against Manchuria.
d. aimed to prevent German re-armament.
e. provided a solution to the tangle of war-debt and war-reparations payments.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 737
68. All of the following were political liabilities for Alfred E. Smith except his
a. Catholic religion.
b. support for the repeal of prohibition.
c. big-city background.
d. failure to win the support of American labor.
e. radio speaking skill.
ANS: D
REF:
p. 738-739
69. One of Herbert Hoover's chief strengths as a presidential candidate was his
a. adaptability to the give-and-take of political accommodation.
b. considerable experience in running for political office.
c. personal charm and charisma.
d. ability to face criticism.
e. talent for administration.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 739
70. When elected to the presidency in 1928, Herbert Hoover
a. was militantly antilabor and against big government.
b. brought little administrative talent or experience to the job.
c. understood that his major challenge was to find a solution to the Great Depression.
d. combined small-town values with wide experience in modern corporate America.
e. had been a successful governor of California.
ANS: D
REF:
p. 738
71. The Federal Farm Board, created by the Agricultural Marketing Act, lent money to farmers primarily
to help them to
a. organize producers' cooperatives.
b. learn a new and more profitable trade.
c. open new land to cultivation.
d. purchase expensive new farm machinery.
e. take land out of production.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 740
72. The mood in the United States just before the stock market crashed in 1929 could best be described as
a. anxious.
b. confident.
c. pessimistic.
d. fearful.
e. None of these
ANS: B
REF:
p. 740
73. The impact of the Great Depression on American resulted in all of the following except
a. jobless husbands felt guilt and shame for their families' hardships.
b. thousands of banks collapsed, taking with them people's life savings.
c. breadlines and soup kitchens emerged to feed the hungry.
d. thousands of people lost their homes to foreclosure.
e. salaries for those who held on to their jobs rose slightly.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 741
74. As a result of the Hawley-Smoot Tariff of 1930
a. American industry grew more secure.
b. duties on agricultural products decreased.
c. American economic isolationism ended.
d. campaign promises to labor were fulfilled.
e. the worldwide depression deepened.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 740
75. In America, the Great Depression caused
a. people to blame the economic system, not themselves, for their problems.
b. a decade-long decline in the birthrate.
c. an increase of foreign investment because prices were so low.
d. a shift from Wall Street investment to investment in small, local businesses.
e. a growing acceptance by business of the need for federal regulation.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 741
76. President Herbert Hoover believed that the Great Depression could be ended by doing all of the
following except
a. providing direct aid to the people.
b. directly assisting businesses and banks.
c. keeping faith in the efficiency of the industrial system.
d. continuing to rely on the American tradition of rugged individualism.
e. lending federal funds to feed farm livestock.
ANS: A
REF:
p. 743-744
77. President Hoover's approach to the Great Depression was to
a. leave the economy alone to work itself out of trouble.
b. nationalize major industries.
c. encourage the states to stimulate spending.
d. work for the breakup of business monopolies.
e. offer federal assistance to businesses and banks but not individuals.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 743-744
78. The term "Hoovervilles" refers to
a. industrial sections of cities where poor workers lived.
b. shantytowns filled with shacks created by homeless people during the Great Depression.
c. picket lines erected by the Bonus Army in their protest against Washington D.C.
d. breadlines and soup kitchens that fed the hungry during the Great Depression.
e. cities hardest hit by the Great Depression - with the highest unemployment and poverty
rates.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 743
79. Hoover was criticized for his handling of the Great Depression, but some historians consider this
unfair for all of the following reasons except
a. his measures probably prevented a more serious collapse than the one that occurred.
b. his expenditures for relief were revolutionary in that day.
c. his government programs paved the way for the massive spending programs of the New
Deal.
d. his handling of the crisis proved that old notions and programs would no longer work in a
major crisis.
e. his policies enabled local and state governments to act more efficiently to help people in
need.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 744
80. The Reconstruction Finance Corporation, established by Hoover to deal with the depression, was
charged with
a. providing direct economic assistance to labor.
b. making loans to businesses, banks, and state and local governments.
c. outlawing yellow dog (antiunion) contracts.
d. providing money for construction of dams on the Tennessee River.
e. lending money for federal public works projects.
ANS: B
REF:
p. 746
81. The Bonus Expeditionary Force marched on Washington, D.C., in 1932 to demand
a. the removal of American troops from Nicaragua.
b. an expanded American army and navy.
c. immediate full payment of bonus payments promised to World War I veterans.
d. punishment for those who had forced unemployed veterans to leave Washington, D.C.
e. housing and health care assistance for veterans.
ANS: C
REF:
p. 746
82. President Hoover's public image was severely damaged by his
a. decision to abandon the principle of rugged individualism.
b. construction of Hoovervilles for the homeless.
c. agreement to provide a federal dole to the unemployed.
d. refusal to do anything to try to solve the Great Depression.
e. use of harsh military force to disperse the Bonus Army from Washington.
ANS: E
REF:
p. 746
83. In response to the League of Nations' investigation into Japan's invasion and occupation of Manchuria
a. the United States became an official member of the League.
b. Japan withdrew its troops.
c. Americans called for a boycott of Japanese goods.
d. Japan left the League.
e. the United States and China moved toward an alliance.
ANS: C
REF:
p. 747
84. The 1932 Stimson doctrine
a. reversed the United States' long-standing interventionist policy in Latin America.
b. committed the United States to join the League of Nations' effort to impose economic
sanctions against Japan for its invasion of Manchuria.
c. announced the United States' willingness to outlaw war as an instrument of national
policy.
d. declared that the United States would not recognize any territorial acquisition achieved by
force of arms.
e. declared Japan and Germany rogue states.
ANS: D
REF:
p. 747
MULTIPLE RESPONSE
85. In the 1920s, the United States Commerce Department under Herbert Hoover encouraged the creation
of trade associations to
a. force compliance with the existing antitrust laws.
b. encourage business competition.
c. promote the standardization of products.
d. help business to combat labor unionization.
e. circumvent the antitrust laws.
ANS: C, D
REF:
p. 730
86. At the 1921-1922 Washington Conference, the major signatories agreed to
a. limit the size of their naval forces.
b. fortify their Far East possessions.
c. preserve the status quo in the Pacific.
d. abandon the Open Door policy in China.
e. prevent Japanese expansion in Asia.
ANS: A, C
REF:
p. 731-732
87. The causes of the Great Depression included
a. agricultural overproduction and debt.
b. unequal distribution of wealth.
c. overextension of credit.
d. anemic foreign trade.
e. economic troubles in Europe.
ANS: A, B, C, D, E
REF:
p. 742
88. President Hoover supported the following antidepression measures
a. federal government loans to banks, corporations, and local governments.
b. the Muscle Shoals Bill.
c. the public dole system then being used in Britain.
d. federally financed public works projects.
e. employment of young people in conservation projects.
ANS: A, D
REF:
p. 743-744
ESSAY
89. Compare the presidential leadership of Harding, Coolidge, and Hoover. What did they have in
common, and how did they differ? How did their personal qualities affect their political success in the
1920s?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
90. What evidence indicated throughout the 1920s that the economy was not as healthy as most believed?
Why weren't these weaknesses addressed?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
91. In what ways did the Washington Conference, Kellogg-Briand Pact, and Stimson doctrine each fall
short of ensuring American national security?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
92. Were the Harding scandals largely a product of individual weakness and corruption, or did they reflect
post-World War I political climate? Why did the Republican party suffer so little damage from the
scandals?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
93. Outline the causes of the great crash of 1929. Why did it come so unexpectedly?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
94. The text authors state that during the 1920s "isolation [from foreign involvement] was enthroned in
Washington." What evidence supports this view? What evidence would you cite to argue that
American foreign policy was not really as isolationist as it first appears?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
95. Explain how American tariff policy and policy on war debts and reparations contributed to deepening
the Great Depression, even if they did not cause it. Why were Americans so generally indifferent to the
effects of their policies on Europe during these years?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
96. Explain Herbert Hoover's election victory in 1928. Consider the personal qualities and policies of the
two candidates, the state of the economy, and the public mood. What were the campaign issues? Was
Smith's defeat attributable to anti-Catholicism, or would even a different, Protestant Democratic
candidate have gone down to defeat?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
97. In what ways did Herbert Hoover combine the values and beliefs of an older, nineteenth-century
America with the experience and outlook of the modern corporate economy?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
98. Historians have not looked too kindly on the presidents of the 1920s, usually judging them as
mediocre. Do you agree with this evaluation of their performance? Explain.
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
99. In the years 1900-1920 progressivism enjoyed widespread support among the American public. Why
were progressives of the 1920s, including La Follette's Progressive party, so ineffective and
uninfluential? What happened to the once-powerful progressives and their ideals?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
100. It has been said that the 1920s saw a shift from the old Republican philosophy of small government to
a new belief that government ought to actively aid big business. What evidence is there for this view?
In what ways did Republican presidents continue to believe that government should keep hands off the
economy?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.
101. Many historians now believe that Herbert Hoover has been unfairly maligned as the villain of the
Great Depression. What blame, if any, does Hoover deserve for the economic collapse and the
suffering of the public? Why does the text state that Hoover was caught "on the horns of a cruel
dilemma"?
ANS:
Student answers will vary.